Chapter Six: Ghosts

Night had finally fallen on the island and in a dark lounge on the other side of the building, Alpha, Gamma, and Delta sat in silence. Hiroki reached for a second cigarette out of the community pack, pressing his thumb to the tip until embers sparked and set it ablaze. He took a long inhale then blew the smoke out in a stream, leaning back on the old couch with a heavy sigh.

From the chair opposite, Miyagi sat, his chin resting on his elbow as he smoked his third joint. And even though his eyes were permanently hidden, it was clear to the fourth that the man was deep in thought.

Hiroki scoffed under his breath. He'd heard about Digamma thrashing that other brat from Akihiko. In fact, Nowaki was still in the barracks with the little punk trying to calm him down. To be honest, Hiroki was both surprised and not surprised by his freak out. On one hand, he didn't think the kid had it in him. Sure, when they'd trained earlier he'd managed to get up a semblance of a defense, but had never even tried to attack Hiroki directly.

But then again, in spite of the kid's natural timidity, Hiroki knew exactly how traumatizing this situation was to first comprehend. It was little wonder Digamma cracked after being hauled here and beaten half to death. In fact, Hiroki remembered something similar happening when Akihiko had first started training him.

He glanced to his left, where the first sat on the other side of the couch, the charred butt of his first cigarette still set between his teeth. Like Miyagi, Akihiko was ruminating intently, his fingers drumming nonstop on the armrest. It was a habit he had acquired when he'd cut back on the smokes. Having some recollection of their childhood together, Hiroki had been in shock and awe when Akihiko had first voiced his decision, though it was for an invaluable reason. Alpha's power could only be channeled through his vocal commands, so it was imperative that his throat and lungs remain intact.

Since then, Akihiko had managed to cut back to only one cig a day, a fact that Hiroki still couldn't wrap his head around, along with the fact that he was now smoking at least four a day. But as their limited supply of alcohol had run dry within weeks, smokes were now the only vice they had left to indulge in.

Plus, as his own abilities were honed, Hiroki found himself drawn to other forms of fire, reveling in a fascination he had never had with the element. Though he still controlled himself as Nowaki had a distaste for the habit and it's accompanying smell.

But the smoking thing aside, Hiroki was just amazed at the amount of control Akihiko had cultivated over the six months they'd been here. Akihiko was even more reserved than before, and yet Hiroki could better sense what he was planning, having been told everything by the man himself.

Gamma suddenly shifted, blowing out his own ring of smoke.

"Beta got Digamma to sleep." He murmured. Alpha glanced up briefly and nodded.

"Just our luck," Hiroki growled. "That the sixth would be a damn kid. We already had our hands full with Epsilon."

"They're refining their research," Akihiko replied. "Younger minds are easier to brainwash. He didn't even remember his own name when he woke up."

Hiroki snorted, snubbing out his third smoke and taking another as he recalled his own awakening. He was actually the only person to not only to immediately remember his name, but the circumstances that had lead to his capture and incarceration. And naturally, when he awoke and saw himself plugged into Bill Nye's laboratory, he had proceeded to thrash all nearby equipment and personnel, which was greatly accelerated by his newly given fire powers.

"Even still," The fourth grumbled. "While they might have been great science fodder for the FMA, they're a handful of hormones and drama for us. It's going to take twice as long just to get them stabilized, not to mention the fact that they're already trying to kill each other."

Miyagi sighed heavily.

"Well, it's no wonder they act like this. They're two young teens who've just had everything they've ever known ripped away from them. As Alpha said, we adults were harder to brainwash because we were able to process things with a bit more clarity."

Hiroki's gaze darkened and he stared at the sightless man as he rose from his seat. Miyagi could sense his gaze, but didn't react. The fourth took his half charred cig and walked towards the door, stopping as he put his hand on the doorknob.

"I don't care how old a person is…" He said bitterly. "It's still hard."

The fourth shut the door behind him, leaving the Alpha and Gamma to ponder his words. However, a little flash of thought came into Miyagi's mind, and he also stood, feeling his way for the door.

"Where are you going?" Alpha murmured, still staring at his tapping fingers.

"Hah," Miyagi laughed. "You didn't ask Delta that."

"That's because I already know. He's gone to train."

"Correct." Gamma smiled, tapping one of his metal eye plates. "But as for me, I think there's some air that needs to be cleared up between Shinobu and Digamma."

"Fine. Just tread lightly." Alpha warned. "I didn't peg that kid as a time bomb, but he had quite the breakdown. Make sure he doesn't have another so soon."

Miyagi chuckled, clutching the doorknob.

"Oh yes, I know Alpha. You forget, I see everything. And I know how important that child is to you, leader…"

Alpha's silver brow flickered dangerously and he turned towards the door, but Gamma had already disappeared.

Misaki let out a slight grunt as he opened his eyes. However, it wasn't morning light that greeted him, and the clock on the wall told him he'd only been out for a couple of hours. He was surprised that he'd been able to sleep so little, considering that Beta had promised him a good night's sleep.

After his fight with Shinobu, all the things wrong in the world had crashed down on his mind in one big heap, and the teen hadn't been able to stop crying for hours. His weeping was so frantic and heartbreaking that Nowaki had finally run back to his office and come back with a syringe. His mind and body weary, Misaki had allowed Nowaki to give him the injection and he'd fallen into a quiet sleep.

The teen shifted around in his bed and sat up, combing back some of his chocolate bangs. However, a movement stirred in the corner of his eye and Misaki nearly cried out as he saw a person sitting on the bed next to his.

"Digamma," The person spoke. Misaki immediately recognized the voice as Gamma. "Can you tell this old man what time it is?"

"Uhh…." The teen stuttered, glancing back at the clock. "It's 1:30….why?"

"Hah," The blind one half laughed. "I was right on time. My visions are getting more accurate by the minute."

Misaki moved to sit on the edge of his bed, still trying to make out Miyagi's face in the darkness.

"…What…do you want?" He asked quietly.

"I wanted to talk to you Digamma." Miyagi replied.

"…About what?" Misaki murmured, hugging a stiff pillow between his arms.

"Shinobu."

At even the mention of the fifth's name, Misaki bristled, clenching his fists defiantly to mask the ache that gnawed at his heart.

"What about him?"

Miyagi sighed.

"Misaki, there's something I'd like to say. I hope you can find it in your heart to—"

"I'm not apologizing," Misaki cut in bitterly. "I'm not sorry for what I did. He deserved it—"

"Let me finish," Miyagi said flatly, trying to regain the helm of their topic. "Misaki, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive Shinobu."

Misaki's lips parted.

"What?"

"Yes," Miyagi replied. "What Shinobu did to you was terribly uncalled for, and I apologize on his behalf. But, I would also like to you a little about him. It may help to clear up any misunderstandings."

"Misunderstandings?" Misaki said with a frown. "Like how Delta beat me black and blue, and Epsilon said all those horrible things to me, and our so called 'leader' just sits back and yells at us to shape up! Those misunderstandings?"

Miyagi gave a halfhearted chuckle.

"Something like that. You see Misaki, there are many virtues in life, even ones so black as ours, but one I find to be the most valuable is empathy."

"What does empathy have to do with anything? Nobody sure shows it here." Misaki muttered.

"Yes, and that is unfortunate. You see, I know a great amount about the other four, especially Shinobu and Hiroki. And one thing I can tell you is that they struggle with empathy because the pain they hold inside themselves is great. It engulfs them to the point that they lash out at those who do not deserve it. But…the first time I saw you in my visions, I sensed…that you were different."

Some of the anger slipped away from Misaki's eyes, and he stared down at his lap in thought.

"And so," Miyagi continued. "I'd like to tell you a little bit about Shinobu, and I hope that by learning about his past, you can see why he does what he does. I'm not asking you to change your opinion of him, but rather…just listen, and draw your own conclusions."

The teen absentmindedly chewed his bottom lip, but after a few moments, he quietly murmured,

"Go ahead…"

"Thank you," Miyagi smiled. "Well for starters I can tell you that Shinobu and I knew each other before this whole mess. I was married to his sister and he was my brother-in-law. However, after time she and I got a divorce. I thought my time with their family was at an end, but I was indeed very mistaken.

"One day Shinobu told me to meet him at a café, claiming he wanted to talk to me about something. I didn't have the foggiest of what it was, but unfortunately I was never able to keep that date. Shortly after the invitation my apartment was stormed by an unlisted division of soldiers and I was taken to the FMA as a random test subject, where I became Gamma, the third.

"Alpha, Beta, and Delta broke me out right after my transformation and while we camped out at this base, I began to have visions of a blonde boy, tied to a laboratory table and screaming at the hands of a monster."

Gamma stopped at this words, and Misaki felt a strange shiver creep down his spine.

"And with each passing dream, I knew with certainty that that boy was Shinobu, and that he had also been taken. But I later found out, that it was much worse…

"Misaki," Miyagi said, his voice growing sober. "If I might ask, do you remember anything about your transformation? The experiments they performed on you?"

Misaki shook his head, his eyes wide with fearful curiosity.

"Well, unfortunately…" Miyagi said. "Shinobu does. Both he and his sister Risako were kidnapped and taken in as test subjects, but while they immobilized him for the surgery, they did not put him under. You see, Shinobu was awake for his entire operation, and he watched in unimaginable horror while those scientists cut him open, experimented on his organs, and rebuilt him to become a machine. And not only that… but his sister was on the table right next to him, and they had intended to only use her for parts. Shinobu had to hear his sister scream as they hacked her up and shoved her organs into his body."

Misaki's mouth gapped in horror, and he hugged himself tighter as visions of blood and gore danced before his eyes.

Miyagi took a deep, sighing breath and resumed.

"I don't need to tell you what it's like to lose a sibling, Misaki, but I do need you to understand what those events did to Shinobu. When we rescued him, he didn't even want to live, let alone fight back. It has taken me—er I mean us months to get that boy back on his feet. And even though he may have regained his will to live, he has ghosts that will haunt him for the rest of his life."

Miyagi stood and carefully reached forward, placing his hand on top of Misaki's head.

"I do not mean to belittle your own circumstances Misaki, and I am truly sorry about what happened to you and your brother. But indulge this old man and think about this: the only difference between you and Shinobu is empathy, and though I am blind, I can clearly see that it resides in your heart. And that one little virtue will save the lives of more people than you could ever know."

Misaki titled his head in confusion. He opened his mouth to speak, but found that no words would come. Miyagi quietly bid him a goodnight and the teen laid back down on his bed. His head was full of thoughts and worries and questions, but luckily, there was just enough of Nowaki's injection left to let him drift back off into a restful sleep.

Alexisz, Pengwens, Suki-desu, KiyameHikari-chan, and Artemis Fortune- Thank you all for your awesome reviews! ^_^ They makes me so happy!

Sesshomaru94- Like all my stories, all questions will be answered in time :) So glad your liking this and I LOVE YOUR AVATAR! Howl! SQUEE! :D

WattaAne- I am debating about whether or not I want to put a lemon in this, but even if I do, it will be a long ways off :) Thanks so much for your kind words! You ROCK!

Cerberus Revised- Yes, although I'm not a big fan of Nosaki myself (waaay too sweet even for my sweet tooth) it seems to have worked well here because Misaki isn't acting like himself. I kind of like how off guard everyone was when I had Misaki punch Shinobu instead of backing off. Tee hee hee...I suprised people XD

Yes there are a lot of unanswered questions because the pace of this story is a bit odd. It moves fast in terms of events but slow in terms of character development, whereas my other stories are completely opposite. But there will be a nice fulfilling Egoist moment coming up soon just for my favorite dog. So glad your reading and so glad you like! ^_^ Huggles!

Next up we have a bit of Terrorist and then some Egoist :) Once again you all have my thanks for the favs, reviews, and subscriptions!

With Love,

TBF101